In this episode of Pitch Battle, we have got none other than Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Shashi Tharoor discussed India's ICC victory after a decade. He praised the team's performance, especially in the crucial final overs. Tharoor highlighted Bumrah's bowling and Suryakumar's catch as key moments. He believes the IPL helped players stay fresh. Tharoor prefers Bumrah as the next T20 captain but sees Hardik as an alternative.
Watch this exclusive space for more insights!
#India #CongratulationsIndia #IndiaWorldCup #ICCWorldCup #T20WorldCup #Bumrah #ViratKohli #RohitSharma #PitchBattle #Congress #ShashiTharoor #Sportsnews #Cricketnews #Interview #Oneindia #Oneindianews
~HT.178~PR.320~ED.101~GR.125~
Watch this exclusive space for more insights!
#India #CongratulationsIndia #IndiaWorldCup #ICCWorldCup #T20WorldCup #Bumrah #ViratKohli #RohitSharma #PitchBattle #Congress #ShashiTharoor #Sportsnews #Cricketnews #Interview #Oneindia #Oneindianews
~HT.178~PR.320~ED.101~GR.125~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, everyone. You're watching Pitch Battle. I'm your host, Indranil.
00:08It's taking time for me to sort of believe what happened.
00:13More than 24 hours. So we are the world champions. Yes.
00:18And the best way to describe, it's a narrative which is going to go on forever.
00:24I think in Indian cricket, the start we got today, winning the World Cup in the West Indies.
00:29That too after 11 years, winning an ICC tournament.
00:33I thought there isn't any better person to explain the narrative, as I said, than Dr. Shashi Tharoor.
00:39So welcome to Pitch Battle.
00:42The World Cup, 13 years, but we did win an ICC trophy 11 years ago in winning the Champions Trophy in 2013.
00:48But it's still more than a decade and it's felt even longer, doesn't it?
00:53Yeah. But, you know, I mean, when did you watch the match?
00:58I actually was in Pirvananthapuram doing a thank you tour of the constituency.
01:04Managed to get back in when the match was just a couple of overs old.
01:07I had recorded the first couple of overs. So I watched the whole thing.
01:12It was the most exciting. I can't tell you. I mean, those last five, six overs were so riveting.
01:21Because, you know, six hours from the end, we thought it was all over.
01:26That 22 runs of Akhil Patel without finish. No chance now.
01:31And then we ended up with Bumrah bowling that incredible two-run over and tightening up the screws.
01:39Everything that could go right went right thereafter.
01:44Hardlik bowled well and Bumrah came back for his final over and took that crucial wicket.
01:49And then that last over with Suryakumar Yadav's fabulous catch.
01:54My gosh, there are so many cartoons showing him catching the trophy instead of catching.
01:59But it's really that's the way it felt. It was just amazing. The whole experience.
02:03I mean, to watch a World Cup final where every bit of tension possible is there, the ups and downs, the excitement.
02:12And then finally, the fact that till the last over, any outcome is possible.
02:17And even two balls from the end, people said, well, it could still be a super over.
02:21If they hit two fours on the last two balls, it will be a super over.
02:24So all of that was going on. It was quite incredible.
02:27But it's quite unexpected the way South Africans, you know, just gave it away on a batter to India.
02:32I mean, we're lucky we won this in 2007 on a similar note where Pakistan gifted us that scoop shot from the Pakistani batter.
02:45Yesterday also, 30 runs from 30 odd balls and the way South Africans gave it away. Your thoughts on that?
02:52I don't think you're being fair at all. I don't think you're being fair at all.
02:56I think the South Africans played outstandingly. They played a really, really good game.
03:02People, you know, make runs by playing shots and they also get out playing shots.
03:08So, I mean, it so happens that our bowlers bowled well enough and our fielders caught well enough.
03:13Come on. I don't see anything that we should be ashamed of at all.
03:16It's not that they gave it away. I think they played exceptionally well.
03:20I think they were right on top of the game and right up to over number 16.
03:25And it's only after that that it began slipping away from them.
03:29And even then, right till the very end, they were in with a chance.
03:33I mean, it's not that there are any slouches, except possibly for their number 11, Shamsi.
03:40All the others can wield a long handle. I've seen people like Rabada and Nortje hitting sixes.
03:45It's not impossible that they could have won, even with a tail batting.
03:49So, I think it was a very good performance for South Africa. We should give them full credit.
03:54I think it's very unfair to accuse them of choking yet again and so on.
03:58Because they didn't choke. I think they played well. We played well.
04:03And in the crucial overs towards the end of the match, we played better.
04:08Absolutely, we did. But, I mean, that Surya Kumar catch you talked about,
04:13it's such a regular phenomenon when we look at IPL games.
04:18I mean, we've seen it. So many cricketers from different countries playing for different franchises,
04:24taking such catches. And IPL has also contributed.
04:28Earlier, we used to talk about how we used to lose T20 World Cup right after IPL.
04:33And everyone used to blame IPL because of overdose of cricket.
04:37But what will you tell them right now?
04:40No, I think, obviously, it helped India that our players were so fresh from the IPL.
04:46And indeed, other players who had played in the IPL, like Travis Head,
04:50also showed the advantages of the IPL because they came into the World Cup raring to go and did very well.
04:56Rahmanullah Gurbaz, same story. These are people who played in the IPL.
05:01I think that that argument can now be laid to rest.
05:04In many ways, the IPL is extremely good preparation for a T20 World Cup,
05:09provided, of course, you don't get injured. If you get injured, that's another matter.
05:13But no one gets exhausted by bowling the series of 4-over games.
05:17And no one gets exhausted playing maybe, you know, good long innings is about half of a 20-over match.
05:24I don't think that anyone is getting worn out from playing T20.
05:29It may be different if you are, you know, coming in from a more exhausting, demanding thing than that.
05:35But I think all those who had IPL experience this year did well in the World Cup.
05:41And that we shouldn't lose sight of.
05:43But I beg to differ, which is Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, they had a horrible time for Mumbai Indians.
05:50And we were feeling quite apprehensive what they would do.
05:54I think the horrible time is what helped them to iron out what they were doing wrong, right?
06:00In fact, the fact is that because they had played so much and not done that well,
06:06they were able to get things better and get better.
06:09I mean, Kohli did very well in the IPL, did very badly in the first stages of the World Cup.
06:14But it's precisely by playing, ironing out his mistakes, figuring out what they were,
06:19practicing in the nets and so on, that he finally got it right.
06:22So I think that, I don't know, I'm still, I'm old fashioned,
06:27but I believe that the best way to play better cricket is to play cricket.
06:31I mean, period.
06:33I'm not a big fan of the theory that you need vast amounts of rest or that you need to slow down
06:42or that you either have to be in a purple patch all along or whatever.
06:46You just keep playing, you get some things right, you get some things wrong.
06:49You get better from what you get wrong and you do better what you've done well.
06:54So the best way that the traditional cricketers got better was by playing more and more.
07:01And I think that's what these guys have done too.
07:03Absolutely. And the way they said goodbye to T20 cricket.
07:07T20 foreman Rohit, Virat and of course, Ravindra Jadeja.
07:12Your thoughts on those players?
07:15Three different stories, I think.
07:17I think Virat, I think, had really a burn out that comes from the intensity of playing so much
07:26and playing so hard that he had psychologically got himself into a place where he was ready to go.
07:31In the case of Rohit, he's of course the oldest of the lot and he's had the longest experience.
07:38He probably felt he had nothing more to prove.
07:41I mean, he's had five centuries in the T20 format.
07:44He's had everything, he's captained India.
07:47I think he just decided that it was time to start now, beginning to take it a bit easy
07:53and looking frankly at his desire to extend himself as India's next test captain.
07:59It's not a bad idea.
08:01I think he will soon probably phase himself out of ODIs too before too long.
08:06And as for Ravindra Jadeja, though I like much about him as a cricketer,
08:11he had a very mediocre T20 career.
08:14If you look at his 70-odd matches, 72 or 74 matches, no exceptional performances,
08:21a top score in the 40s, not somebody who shone.
08:27I think his best bowling performance was a one three-wicket haul.
08:31This is not somebody who's had a stellar career in T20s.
08:35And frankly, after this World Cup, I think Akshar had done so much better
08:40that in situations where we needed one left-arm spinner,
08:44it was one left-arm spinner, come batter, come all-rounder.
08:47It was going to be Akshar and not Jadeja.
08:49And Chahal would probably have come in in Indian conditions in place of Jadeja.
08:54So I think that Jadeja saw the writing on the wall and quit before being dropped,
09:00which I think is fine. It's good to quit on a high.
09:03And certainly when people still feel, many people still feel you're good enough for the team.
09:08I think that what is very interesting about Jadeja is his second coming as a test cricketer.
09:15He was shining in the white ball format and doing not so well in the test format
09:19till about three, four years ago.
09:21And now he's become an outstanding test player, particularly with the bat,
09:26which is something no one would have anticipated, I think,
09:29given his first years as a test cricketer.
09:32And I'd love to see him prolong his career in test cricket,
09:36becoming an absolute stalwart of the Indian middle order
09:40and also as a very useful contributor in both the field and with the ball,
09:48but really a solid batsman capable of a century on every occasion.
09:52That is somebody who I think Jadeja could have been when he first came into the team,
09:58but spectacularly failed to be.
10:01He became, in his first half of his test career,
10:04a far better bowler and fielder than he was a batsman.
10:07And rightly so, Ashwin used to bat ahead of him.
10:10Now it's a different thing.
10:12He's really become a star test player.
10:15And I think that should be the good thing we can look forward to in the next few years of Jadeja.
10:19These guys are all, you know, perhaps two, three,
10:22maximum four years of cricket left in them at the top level.
10:26And they naturally want to conserve their energies
10:28and play the formats where they believe they can do most justice.
10:32I see absolutely no problem with that.
10:34Cricketers do retire, but politicians don't.
10:39Yeah, yeah. Politicians.
10:41Actually, I would like to think that I will know when to call it quits.
10:45I mean, I've always been profoundly impressed by Gavaskar's famous line back in 1987
10:51when he shocked us all by retiring.
10:54And he said, you know, I wanted to quit when people asked why
10:57rather than wait till they asked why not.
10:59Which I think is something that politicians could also benefit from.
11:03Absolutely. So true.
11:05But, you know, Virat Kohli, I mean, playing that knock,
11:09which was basically, he anchored the innings for India
11:14after India lost those two early wickets.
11:1637 deliveries he played without scoring a boundary.
11:20Yeah, 50 or 48 was actually rather underwhelming.
11:24And I think he was right to not acknowledge the 50
11:29because it really was not a good 50 in those circumstances.
11:33But then his last 20 yard runs of fewer than a dozen balls,
11:38I think that was just the right kind of acceleration, just the right time.
11:43And he would not have been in a position to do that
11:47had he not built the platform he built with the relatively slow 50s.
11:51It's so difficult to critique that innings because in the end,
11:55it was the innings that gave us the total that enabled us to win the match.
11:59And that's why he won the Man of the Match award.
12:02But had he got out just after his 50, people would not have been admiring of it.
12:07It was the 50 as a platform and then the acceleration
12:11over the last dozen balls of his innings
12:13that made it such a great innings in the end.
12:16And, you know, the remarkable bit was everyone contributed to that win.
12:21Absolutely.
12:24Fantastic bowling.
12:25Those overs and particularly the fact that he did,
12:28I think it's four overs for 18, wasn't it?
12:30Just amazing.
12:32But, you know, let's not forget Ashdeep also, four overs for 20.
12:35This is remarkable stuff from the top two basemen.
12:40And Hardik in the end, his first over was bad.
12:43His last two were decisive and they were excellent.
12:47So really, we have to praise all three basemen.
12:51And, of course, the batting of Akshar.
12:55His bowling let him down this time.
12:57The batting was very good.
12:59The extraordinary work of Kohli.
13:05I think in many ways, this was a complete team effort.
13:08And if you look at the tournament as a whole, Indranil,
13:11you find that pretty much everyone contributed in one way or the other.
13:15Punk, on paper, didn't have a great tournament,
13:17but his wicket-keeping was spectacular.
13:19And in one or two matches, he really, the wicket-keeping was almost decisive.
13:24Similarly, Surya Kumar, I think he had a few good innings,
13:29but those few were really important and valuable.
13:33And, of course, this catch, which is not the only catch he's taken.
13:36He's taken a few in the tournament, but this was just amazing.
13:39Such a reliable player in the field.
13:42So I think you go down the list and there's nobody who didn't contribute.
13:45Kuldeep had a bad final, but he had excellent performances
13:49in all the earlier matches that he was given a chance to play.
13:52Similarly, Siraj did well when he played, but he wasn't required.
13:56He was surplus of requirements on the slower pitches in the Caribbean,
13:59which is ironic because when I was a kid,
14:02the Caribbean was noted for its fast pitches.
14:05But now it's become a place for slower bowlers.
14:11But who do you think would be our next T20 captain?
14:16Well, I would personally prefer Bumrah,
14:19but I suspect that Hardik has the inside track.
14:21It's between the two of them anyway,
14:23with Shubman Gill being groomed, I think, for an understudy role.
14:27He's being asked to captain the side in Zimbabwe
14:30while both Bumrah and Hardik are rested.
14:32But I think, you know, I really like everything I see of Bumrah.
14:36I just think he's one of the smartest cricketers around.
14:40And he has led India in a test match
14:44and Hardik has led India in white ball cricket.
14:47Both of them have been tried out.
14:50I think given the power equations in the BCCI,
14:53it's possible that it'll be one of the two of them
14:59and I'm not betting on which one.
15:01But my own vote would be for Bumrah at this point.
15:04But Bumrah is...
15:05Hardik should have a longer career. I'm sorry?
15:07I mean, we should be looking at a long-term solution.
15:10How about Rishabh Pant?
15:12No, sir. Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill,
15:14these are all options in the future.
15:16I mean, I would even want to have Sanju Samson in the mix
15:19if he finally proves himself in Zimbabwe.
15:21He's never been given a decent chance as the number one choice.
15:24Yeah.
15:25And if he can get a full tour of five T20s to establish himself,
15:30and don't forget he's got an ODI century as well,
15:35I think he could be a very, very good option
15:37as a white ball captain too.
15:39He's very calm, very sensible,
15:41handled the Rajasthan Royals extremely well now
15:44the last few seasons,
15:46brought them to the finals twice, to the semis.
15:49This is a very, very good and deeply underrated captain
15:52as well as player.
15:54So I'd like to see him in the mix as well.
15:56So I think we have no shortage of choices.
15:58Indranil and I wouldn't mind a total India level
16:01with both Pant and Samson.
16:03Pant probably being the better keeper
16:05and Samson the better batsman,
16:06the more reliable batsman.
16:08All right.
16:09But the new coach,
16:12I mean, I don't know who's going to be the new coach.
16:14Everyone has seen Gautam Dambir,
16:15but Rahul Dravid,
16:17do you like the fact that he's going out on a high like this?
16:22Could have stayed back?
16:23Oh, I don't like the fact that he's going out.
16:26I don't like the fact that he's going out.
16:27I wish he had three more years in the job.
16:29He's just really been terrific for India.
16:32He's so sensible, so calm, so mature, so self-effacing.
16:37And at the same time,
16:38he's obviously very, very much earned the respect
16:40and trust of his team.
16:42So it's a real loss.
16:43Whatever happens, I'm sorry to see him going,
16:47but if he must go,
16:48I'd rather he went out on a high
16:49because he deserves nothing less.
16:51He's a terrific guy.
16:53I might say that I know Gautam Dambir personally,
16:55and I think he's also terrific.
16:57He'll bring a lot of intensity to the game.
17:00That's different, in a way,
17:02in a different way from Dravid.
17:04Not that Dravid isn't intense.
17:05I think he's just quieter about it.
17:07Dambir will wear it more on his sleeve.
17:10But these are both fine cricketers.
17:12I have nothing against Gautam coming in.
17:17It's just that I think he could have waited a bit
17:19while Dravid had a little longer,
17:21except Dravid didn't want to continue, I gather.
17:24I know.
17:26It's just kind of sad.
17:29Virat went and gave that cup to him,
17:33and the way he held it and lifted it,
17:35and he was behaving…
17:37First time I've seen him behaving like a kid.
17:39Rahul Dravid.
17:40It was an amazing sight, sir.
17:42I was so personally happy seeing him.
17:44Such a gentleman cricketer.
17:46Never won something as a cricketer,
17:48but as a coach, he's done it.
17:50And what a magical way.
17:52But from here on, what do you see?
17:54Indian cricket progressing further
17:56with giant steps.
17:58We should be winning all the tournaments
18:00because this was the jinx we had to break.
18:02And looking back from here,
18:05the kind of talent we have in the country.
18:07I'd like to see us entering an era of dominance
18:13to rival the West Indies of the 70s,
18:1560s, 70s, 80s,
18:17and the Australians of the 90s
18:20and the first decade of the century.
18:23There have been teams that have had
18:25that kind of dominance
18:27where everyone expected them to win
18:29against anyone, any conditions, anywhere.
18:31And that's what I want India to be.
18:33We've never been that.
18:34We've won tournaments
18:35and then promptly failed to keep that up.
18:39I remember in 83, we won the World Cup in England.
18:41And later that winter,
18:43the West Indies came to India
18:45and one-upped us 5-0 in the Test Series.
18:47So, I mean, you know,
18:50we just haven't had an extended run of dominance
18:54in the sport.
18:56And I'd love to see that happen.
18:58I'd love to see India becoming that kind of team.
19:01For all the reasons you yourself mentioned, Indranil,
19:03the existing amount of talent we have,
19:06which is so considerable,
19:08the fact that this talent involves people
19:11coming up at all levels from all over the country,
19:14from all sorts of backgrounds.
19:15It's a much more diverse pool now.
19:18Cricket is no longer an elite sport.
19:20It reaches every mahala.
19:22We have railway ticket collectors
19:26and rickshaw drivers' sons
19:28who become international stars playing for India.
19:31We've got all of this going for us.
19:33And I think that with this kind of talent pool,
19:35this kind of depth,
19:36this kind of population base,
19:38this kind of resources and money coming into the sport
19:41and the fan base to encourage people,
19:44I don't see why we shouldn't be
19:46by far the best team in the world.
19:48I want it to be a situation
19:50where the Indian second or third eleven
19:52is better than the next best test country.
19:54And we can be like that.
19:56So I'd like to see really a formidable machine
19:59coming into place.
20:00And if with all the advantages we have,
20:02we can't do that,
20:04then I have to ask what's wrong with us as a people.
20:07Because we really should have every reason
20:09to be as formidable as those great teams,
20:12as I mentioned earlier in the past,
20:15like the West Indies and the old Australians.
20:17I hope it happens, sir.
20:19As they say,
20:22but how do you celebrate the win?
20:24I mean,
20:27it's been more than 24 hours.
20:29I'm still struggling to sort of find my feet
20:32and make myself believe,
20:33yes, we have won.
20:35Well, politics doesn't leave me any time to celebration.
20:38We finished the match around midnight,
20:40watched a few minutes of the emotions
20:42on the screen on both sides.
20:43Which was really moving.
20:44I mean, I really felt what these guys had gone through.
20:48Hardik Pandya in tears
20:50and the South Africans in tears,
20:53David Miller in tears.
20:54It was just,
20:55they all went through so much.
20:57And it just showed how much the whole game
20:59meant to everybody.
21:00And no one was flat at the end of it.
21:02Everyone had been rung dry,
21:03but they weren't flat.
21:04It just was an amazing thing.
21:05After that,
21:06I tried to go to bed
21:07because I had to wake up early in the morning
21:09and resume my political work,
21:10which is to conduct a thank you tour
21:12of the last seven years.
21:13But cricket world,
21:14this is just the starting
21:15of all the good things in cricket world.
21:18Thanks.
21:19Thank you,
21:20Tarun sir,
21:21for coming on Pitch Battle
21:23and sharing your sentiments.
21:25We hope this is just starting all good things,
21:28as I said,
21:29and we'll continue to track Indian cricket
21:31very, very religiously.
21:33And take care and enjoy.
21:35Sit back and enjoy cricket forever.
21:38Thank you, sir.
21:39Yes, thank you.
21:40I always will.
21:41And one day,
21:42I'm sure the voters will give me more time
21:44to go back to watching all the cricket
21:47I want to watch.
21:48I've never followed a tour in the West Indies
21:51or even in Australia.
21:53That will surely happen.
21:56And on that note,
21:57thanks a lot for coming on Pitch Battle
21:59and sharing your views.
22:00We'll be back again with a new episode
22:02and all the best, Team India.
22:05It'll be fun to go and see the Indian team
22:07do wonders.
22:08Looking forward to all that.
22:09Absolutely, sir.
22:10Thanks a lot.
22:11All the best. Bye.